LeBron James out Thursday for Lakers vs. Warriors with ankle issue

2024 NBA ALL STAR GAME

LeBron James sat out last Wednesday night’s Lakers game in Utah due to left ankle peroneal tendinopathy.

Sunday night he played 14 minutes in the All-Star Game and did this.

After the game, he was asked if he would play when the Lakers returned to action Thursday, but LeBron was non-committal.

“It possibly could. It depends on the recovery process. So possibly, but we will see,” he said,

Turns out he was non-commital for a reason. Thursday night LeBron is out against the Warriors with the same ankle issue, the Lakers announced.

Peroneal tendinosis is when some of the tendons on the outside of the ankle swell and become sore, and it’s mostly an overuse injury. The treatment starts with rest, although, to be fair the 14 minutes LeBron played in the All-Star Game were not exactly high-stress minutes. The Lakers game against the Warriors Thursday is the first game of a back-to-back, they play Friday night at home against the Spurs.

The Lakers will be without center Christian Wood for those games and longer, he has been diagnosed with effusion in his left knee — a fluid buildup — and he will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Add Jarred Vanderbilt — out with a mid-foot sprain — and the Lakers will be missing key parts of their rotation against the Warriors in a battle of teams trying to climb up the standings and out of the bottom of the play-in tournament (the Lakers are the nine-seed coming out of the All-Star break, the Warriors 10).